It's A Cycle
by GhostiesandGhoulies
Summary: Mikey has a long day of birthday parties as Cowabunga Carl, turns out taking up a party with older kids wasn't the brightest idea. Don deals with his slightly injured brother and is enlightened to some things Mikey had kept to himself. Maybe the youngest is finally coming into his intellect!


**I felt like making another Mikey-centric one-shot... he is my favorite turtle after all :) **

**Anyway here we go again, hope you enjoy!**

**The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles belong to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.**

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Mikey let out a sigh as he entered the lair. It had been another long Saturday full of birthday parties. He absolutely hated being Cowabunga Carl but the pay it got was undeniable. The family needed the money to pay for everyday needs. Though he did really wish that he could get a different job. The lair was quiet as was the new usual. Even with Leo back and them going topside again it was still so quiet that it made him nervous.

He practically fell onto the couch in the living room, his energy gone and the soreness from getting beat on with foam weapons getting to him finally. He put up a mental block during the day and tried not to think about it but when he got home it all came crashing down on him. He always felt tired and bruised after working long Saturdays. This was just worse because of one party he had been to.

"Oh hey Mike, didn't hear you come in today," a voice commented from nearby.

Mikey wearily lifted his head, looking up to see Leonardo with a newspaper and teacup in hand. Mentally he thought about how much he looked like a human right then. "Hey Leo," he greeted, falling back into the couch, "I walked today, didn't use the skate board today which is probably why..."

Leo frowned at how exhausted his younger brother looked, it was unnatural for the normally boisterous turtle. "You okay," he asked quietly, "you look completely wiped out."

The orange banded turtle snorted, "Yep, feel like it too... It was a long day, five parties one right after the other."

That caught Leo's attention, "Five? That is a lot, have you ever done that many in a row?" His concern deepened then, "Everything okay, the kids didn't beat on you too badly did they?"

Mikey finally sat up, bags beneath his eyes, "It's always bad Leo, it just goes in degrees. Today was a really bad day though because there was a party with older kids who decided it would be more fun to kick and punch rather than to beat on me with the foam weapons..."

Leo was sitting by him in an instant, "Where?" His newspaper and tea were cast aside as he felt his concern grow.

With a sigh he lifted his sore arm and revealed a darkly colored bruise and then carefully stretched out his leg, appearing in pain in doing so. He decided it was okay to show just how much he was hurting now that Leo knew it had been a really bad day. He also moved his right arm carefully.

All of this caught Leo's attention. He watched carefully before calling out, "DONNY COME HERE." He began to look over his brother more carefully, the amount of bruises littering his arms was scary for him.

Donny came in a hurry, "What? What is it?"

Mikey hissed as Leo applied gentle pressure to his side, "Level 8 bad day today." It was a code that he knew Donny would understand as they had worked out a system to describe how bad the days would be for him. The worst level was that of level 9, he had yet to reach that level and really hoped he never would. The way the day had gone thus far made him wonder if level 9 wasn't far off however.

A look of worry came upon the purple banded turtle's face and he immediately did as Leo had and began looking him over, seeing the worst spots instantly. "Jeez Mikey, what happened today," he asked in an astonished tone, "I don't think I've ever seen you with bruises this bad."

"I would like to avoid it in the future too," the other replied with his teeth grit.

Don threw another concerned glance before going into doctor mode, "Well, where is the worst? I see the worst places but what hurts most?"

Mikey thought a moment, "They're all about equal in pain right now. I suppose my knee and my elbow are the worst though."

Leo looked at his knee while Donny went to his elbow. With the utmost care they removed the elbow pad and knee bad in the way, gaping at the swollen skin underneath.

Gently Leo laid his hand on his younger brother's knee, frowning when he felt how hot it was, "Unless I'm mistaken when an injury gets warm and red in color it means it's pretty bad."

"You'd be correct, his elbow is the same way," Donny murmured, "Mike I think you might have a cracked elbow... how the hell did they manage that?"

"What's goin' on in here," a gruff voice sounded from the entryway.

Leo and Don glanced over before turning back to their younger brother, having already known it was Raphael but having to check anyway.

Donny was gently feeling around the elbow in his palm, "Lot of work for Mikey today, turns out it was a long and miserable day for him."

Raph came over then, observing the three in silence, shifting whenever Mikey let out a hiss of pain. It made him feel uncomfortable whenever any of his brothers had injuries but it seemed to be intensified when it came to the youngest. He might not openly show it but he was feeling really concerned for the younger. It felt like all too often it was him that was injured and the others were left caring for him. Raph's eyes darkened, he really didn't like that.

Eventually Leo and Donny began looking over the rest of their brother, looking for anything else that stood out as bad. They began asking questions but suddenly the answers stopped coming, making them look up.

Mikey's head was on the back of the couch then, eyes shut and breathing deeply.

Donny smiled sympathetically, "I should have figured he'd be exhausted, after all this... Did he tell you what happened that he got beat up so badly?"

"Said he went to a party that had older kids that decided using their fists and legs was more fun than the foam weapons, hence these injuries," Leo replied, clearly unhappy about the information he had been given.

This appeared to surprise Donatello, "Really? That would have made it his third party, that means he went through two others after... Holy crap Mike... You must have a higher pain tolerance than you let us on to..."

Raph came over and reluctantly placed a hand on his brother's head, "Idiot..."

Leo and Donny watched in silence as Raph moved away and up towards his room, "Call me when he wakes up, yea," he said.

With a small sound of interest, Leo looked to Donatello, "That was odd, anyway should we move him to the med bed?"

Donatello seemed to mull over the question before nodding, "Yeah, it would be best. I don't really want to move him as we'll inevitably cause pain but I really should have him in my lab to make sure I get to everything and get it healing right."

With that the two began to carefully and gently carry their younger sibling to the med bed, pausing every single time Mikey gave a groan of discomfort. It made them uncomfortable to know they were unintentionally causing their ailing brother more pain but they both knew it was as Donny had said, inevitable. They both felt a huge sense of relief with having Mikey safely laid upon the med bed afterwards.

Donny immediately set about working to bandage and look more carefully over his brother while Leo watched anxiously nearby.

"Go do something Leo," Don eventually said while working, "you'll worry yourself sick sitting there while I do this."

The eldest made a move to retaliate when his purple banded brother gave him a look. His mouth flapped a few times before he let out a sigh and headed out of the room, not quite sure he _could_ do something else and not worry.

Inside Donatello felt a sense of relief, despite how beat up Mikey actually looked he wasn't too bad off. The worst was that of his elbow which was indeed cracked and would need to be in a sling for a good 6 weeks before Don would feel comfortable letting him out of it. He had a few deep bruises that would take a solid week to begin fading and then a banged up knee. Thankfully though his knee wasn't too bad off but would need time to heal and decrease in size. With a grimace Donny realized that the injuries were far from the worst Mike had ever had, but they were enough to keep him out of action for a few weeks. At least until his knee and elbow got to healing.

Mikey let out a groan from the bed and gazed blearily up at Donatello, "Donny..?"

"Oh hey," the purple banded turtle called, "I honestly wasn't expecting you to wake up so soon, it's only been a half hour."

With a small shrug he looked around and noticed the wrapping on his knee, elbow and over a few of the more serious bruises, "Well at least I don't look like a mummy or something this time..."

Donny rolled his eyes and gave a small smile, "Yeah yeah, you are pretty lucky though. It looks a lot worse than it is. But you do have to take it easy for a couple of weeks." Upon seeing the puppy dog look his younger brother took up he shook his head, "Nope, two weeks minimum!"

With an overdramatic sigh Mikey relaxed onto the bed, "Hey Donny?"

"Hmm?"

He hesitated, "Is there any other kind of job I could get? I'm kind of getting sick of the Cowabunga Carl scene..." He waited for answer, nothing came, "Hey are you list-"

"I thought you loved being Cowabunga Carl..." Don said in slight disbelief.

Mikey gave a small shrug, "I did. Back when it was fresh and I was really eager to make people happy by being at their birthday parties but now it just feels like a chore. Lately I've been dreading Saturdays because I know it means more birthday parties."

Donatello observed his younger brother carefully, "Well I wish you had told me sooner, there's tons of jobs in this world Mike. There's bound to be something else we can get you into. Or you know, you don't have to even work anym-"

"Stop right there Donny," Mikey interjected, eyes hardened, "we've had this talk before. I know I don't have to but I want to. If it means helping out with expenses here and less work for you I'd do anything I could. I'd even be Cowabunga Carl for the rest of my life if it means I can help in some way."

The purple banded turtle let out a small sigh, he had tried many times before to talk about the prospect of him not having to work only to be shut down in similar ways. With a shake of his head he grinned over at the other, "You're impossible."

"That's my specialty Don," he commented dryly, "you forget that sometimes."

The other quirked a brow at that, "I thought your specialties were in being 'Dr. Prankenstein', being Battle Nexus Champion and cooking?"

A shrug, "Those too, I guess I'm a turtle of many hats."

"I'm honestly amazed you know that phrase," Donny commented.

Mikey gave a small grin, "Aww come on, don't be mean Donny!"

The door opened, "So you _are_ awake already," came a voice from the doorway.

The two brothers turned to find their eldest brother looking at them in slight relief. Mikey offered a wave, "Hey Leo."

"How you feeling Mike," he asked, venturing closer.

The youngest gave a snort, "Awful but it's not keeping my mood down. I'm just tired still."

"Well then you should be resting dummy," Leo chided with a small smile.

"Are you kidding, I have stuff to do," Mikey shot back instantly, a small frown working onto his features.

Donatello crossed his arms and gave his younger brother a warning look, "And what on _Earth_ could you possibly have to do?"

The purple banded turtle gained himself a sour look for his question, "Well I'm sure not letting anyone else cook dinner! We've tried that before and I'd like to keep my taste buds and digestive system intact - thank you."

Leonardo was the one to retort, "We'll just order pizza Mikey, problem solved."

"But we had pizza yesterday too..."

Both of his brothers eyed him in utter surprise, "Are you really complaining about having pizza...?"

Mikey looked appalled by the mere suggestion, "Of course not! I could eat pizza everyday of my life but I know you guys get sick of eating it so much sometimes..."

Leo and Donny gazed at him in honest shock, not having expected such a reason. They tossed a smile at each other, some brother they had.

Just then another figure appeared at the doorway, "Is shell fer brains up?"

"Aw be nice to the wounded turtle Raphie," Michelangelo called, leaning forward to actually lay eyes on his red banded brother. A shot of pain went through him and he quickly fell back on the bed with his teeth grit, just barely biting back a groan of pain. He reached with his good hand and placed it on his bandaged side softly, taking a few deep breaths as the pain faded away.

Donatello shook his head and approached, "Am I the only one who remembers you got beat up quite recently?" He placed a soothing hand on the other's shell, "You have to take it easy Mikey... you're going to be in a pain for quite awhile after that."

Raph entered the room further and eyed his younger brother with narrowed eyes, "So, how is he Don?"

Leonardo too stood waiting for their medical inclined brother's answer.

Donny glanced at them and let out a deep sigh, "He'll be alright long term but I did find his elbow did get cracked but that was really it as far as serious injures. He does have some really deep bruises, almost to the point of bruised bones but they'll fade eventually." He gave a soft glare at the orange banded turtle before him, "Like I said, you need to take it easy Mike. You very easily could worsen your injuries if you got reckless."

Mikey's head was cast downwards, a shadow covered his face. He gave a low chuckle, "It seems like you're always telling me that. Doesn't it really happen that much?" Giving a small huff he lifted his head, "Guess that is just the life of us turtles. We fight, we get injured, we win and then we rise to meet the next challenge. Like a cycle. The cycle of heroism..."

The other three turtles listened with intrigue at the their sibling's reflective words. Then it was Raphael who broke the silence that had developed, "I dunno 'bout you, but I don't know dat many heroes who get their shell kicked by a bunch of kids."

Baby blue eyes looked up in surprise and then lit up as Mikey gave a bright laugh, "Yeah I knew you'd never let me live that one up."

"Course not," Raph scoffed with a smirk, "it's my job to make yer life miserable."

"Okay fine, but will you help me up," the other shot back suddenly.

Raph's brown eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms, "What's in it for me?"

Mikey huffed, "Well you living up to your apparent job to make me miserable and dinner because I'm going to go start it."

A vein throbbed suddenly in Donatello's temple, he irritatingly rubbed at it.

Leo noted and decided to step in, or at least attempt to, "Mikey, didn't you hear a word of what Don just told you?"

An almost invisible smile appeared on the said turtle's lips as he slowly worked his way to a standing position, favoring his injured leg carefully. "I heard, but it really never changes things," he commented dryly, "besides I can't stop everything just because I got a bit injured. You guys have had it worse than me and you kept going so I will too." Mikey began a slow limp past Raph and out the door, "Some help would be appreciated if one of you would like to..."

The remaining three stared at the other's retreating form until he had went past their line of vision and they heard the clattering of pans in the kitchen.

Raphael rolled his shoulders, "Well somebody has to help shelf fer brains, he'll trip on his own two feet..." He quickly exited and the sound of grumbling and excited chattering came from the kitchen not long after.

Leonardo glanced at Donny for a moment before he too headed towards the kitchen.

Don stood in thought, his youngest brother's words echoing in his head. He gave a smile, "A cycle huh? An interesting thought." With a more relaxed pace he followed after his siblings and decided he had might as well help the stubborn orange banded turtle where he could. He knew then, upon seeing Mikey's bright smile and rather steady movements that the younger would be just fine. Now if only he would actually take his doctor's advice for once!

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**There we have it. I could see more parts to this story but it could be a stand alone just as well. I suppose for now we'll leave it at that. Hope you enjoyed! R&R if you want!**


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